Student&#39;s control stick for airplanes



June 20, 1939. J. c. ZIEGLER sTunENTfs CONTROL STICK FOR Ampmusy Filed Aug. 1Q, 1938 c/,CZ ieg/er ATTO RN EYS Patented June 20, 1939 ATENT OFFICE STUDENTS CONTROL STICK FOR AIRPLANES James C. Ziegler, Panama, C. Z.

Application August 10,

' 2 claims.

This invention relates to students control stick for airplanes.

An object of the invention is to provide a control stick which will be so constructed as to permit the instructor to take control of the airplane at any time, in case the student becomes excited and freezes or fouls the stick.

A further object is to provide a students control stick which will be soconstructed that should the student regain his nerves and the instructor consider him capable of again taking over the airplane, the student can, with the instructors permission, reconnect his stick and take control of the airplane.

With the above and other objects in view the invention consists of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed, it being understood that various modifications may be resorted to within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of an airplane fuselage showing the instructors seat, the instructors stick, and a student control stick constructed in accordance with the invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of the lower portion of the students control stick showing the jointed and spring controlled construction thereof.

Figure 3 is a cross sectional view of the control stick taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2 and drawn to large scale.

Referring now to the drawing in which like characters of reference designate similar parts in the various views, I0 designates a` portion of the fuselage, II the instructors control stick, and l2 the instructors seat, these parts being conventional airplane construction.

In carrying out the invention a students control stick is provided the same comprising a lower tubular section I3, an upper tubular section I4 which is provided with a beveled lower end I 5 which ts in a correspondingly shaped upper end I6 of the lower section. A coupling sleeve Il eX- tends over both sections of the stick to normally hold the sections assembled as a unit so that the stick may 'be used in the usual manner to control the airplane from the students cockpit through the instrumentality of a link I8 which connects the students stick with the instructors stick so that both move in unison to manipulate the con- 1938, Serial No. 224,177

trols in the usual manner when the student is in control of the airplane.

The sleeve I1 is slidably mounted on the upper and lower sections of the students stick and may be slid bodily upward upon the upper section to clear the lower section so that the upper section or grip section'of the stick becomes disconnected from the lower section. To releasably secure the sleeve in place a flanged collar I8 is secured to the upper section I4 of the stick in any preferred manner. A plurality of equally spaced helical .springs I9 extend downwardly from the flange of the collar and are connected at the lower ends to a flange 20 on the bottom of the sleeve Il. These springs tend constantly to pull the sleeve to released position.

To hold the sleeve in coupling position a bell crank like latch 2| is pivoted between hinge ears 22 which project from the flange 23 of a sleeve 24 which is rigidly secured to the lower section I3 of the stick. The latch is provided at the upper end with a hook 25; which hooks over the flange 29 of the sliding sleeve and holds the sleeve-.at its coupling position, resting upon the flange 23 of the stationary collar 24, to hold the sections of the stick assembled in alignment.

A flexible shaft 26 is connected to the free end of the latch and is trained forwardly to the instructors stick II and thence upwardly on the stick where it is connected at the upper end to a lever 2l which is pivotally connected to a collar 28 secured to the upper end of the instructors stick. At any time should the student become incapable of operating the ship the instructor need only to press the lever 21 thereby pulling the latch ZI from the sliding sleeve and permit the springs I9 to contract and move the sleeve to uncouple the sections of the students stick.

Should at any time after the emergency has passed and the student has recovered from his attacked nerves, with the instructors permission the student may again take over the control stick and for this purpose the instructor need only release the lever 21 to permit the student sliding the sleeve I l downwardly until the ange thereof rests upon the stationary ange 23 in which position of the parts the hook of the bell crank latch will hook over the flange 20 of the sliding sleeve Il and hold it in operative position to again couple together the upper section I4 and the lower section I3 of the students stick.

Referring now to Figure 2 it will be seen that a helical spring 29 is housed in the bores of the tubular upper section I4 and tubular lower section I3 of the students stick and is connected at the upper end with the upper stick through the instrumentality of a pin 3U and is connected at the lower end to the lower section of the stick through the instrumentality of a pin 3|. The purpose of this spring is to yieldably hold both sections of the stick in normal aligned position when the spring is not of suicient strength to overbalance the spring I9 and thus will nearly be relieved slightly of tension when the springs I9 contract to lift the sleeve I1 to uncoupling position, and still retain suiiicient tension to permit the upper section I4 and the lower section I3 of the stick to be easily and quickly realigned when it is desired to move the sleeve I'l to coupling position after each actuation.

From the above description it is thought that the construction and operation of the invention will be fully understood Without further explanation.

What is claimed is:

1. A students control stick for airplanes comprlsing upper and lower aligned sections, a sleeve coupling the sections together at their meeting ends, springs connected to the upper section and to the sleeve tending constantly to slide the sleeve upwardly onto the upper section to clear the lower section and disconnect the upper section from the lower section, a latch engaging said sleeve and pivotally mounted on the lower section for holding said sleeve releasably in operative position, means for moving said latch to release the sleeve, and a single spring connected to both sections of the stick and tending constantly to hold both sections assembled.

2. A students control stick for airplanes comprising upper and lower hollow sections, a spring in the bores of both sections and connected to both sections for normally holding the sections in alignment, a sleeve slidably fitted on both sections and normally coupling the sections together at their meeting ends, collars on both sections, a collar on the sleeve, springs connected at the ends to the collar on the sleeve and to the collar on the upper section and tending constantly to pull the sleeve upwardly to uncoupling position on the upper section, a latch pivoted on the collar on the lower section and normally hooked over the collar on the sleeve to hold the collar on the sleeve in contact with the collar on the lower section in coupling position, and means for moving the latch to release the coupling sleeve for movement by its controlling springs to uncoupling position. 25

JAMES C. ZIEGLER. 

